Abstract
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), established in 2008, released its final report containing 94 Calls to Action to redress the historical legacy of cultural assimilation against Indigenous peoples (TRC, 2015). Since the release of the TRC’s Calls to Action there has been a push within the nursing academy to Indigenize nursing education (Essien, 2022). Situated within the context of the colonialism and Whiteness, the goals of this study were to deconstruct and analyze the discourse of Indigenization in the undergraduate nursing education programs in Saskatchewan and examine the discursive practices that sustain, reproduce, and/or transform structures of dominance and power within nursing education programs in relation to Indigenization.
The study answered the following exploratory questions: (a) what is the conceptualization of Indigenization in the strategic plans in undergraduate nursing programs of Saskatchewan? (b) what are the experiences and/or practices of nursing program staff in implementing Indigenization within their programs? (c) how does the discourse of Indigenization found in texts, and experiences and/or practices of staff sustain, reproduce, or transform existing power structures in undergraduate nursing programs in Saskatchewan?
Using Spivak's (2009) theory of the deconstruction of marginality as the overarching theoretical framework, the strategic plans of the three undergraduate nursing programs in Saskatchewan and nursing staff of the programs were also interviewed to gain an understanding of their practices in relation to Indigenization. The texts and interviews were analyzed using a systematic content analysis process (Lune & Berg, 2017) and Fairclough’s (2016) dialectical-relational approach to critical discourse analysis.
The study found that there are four constructs of Indigenization embodied in the discourse of the strategic plans of nursing education programs in Saskatchewan: Indigenous inclusion, relationship, reconciliation, and decolonization. These constructs are interplayed within the text and in practice in such a way that one cannot be fully realized without the others. The practices of nursing program staff also show areas of tensions and contestations regarding the benefits, challenges, and detractors of Indigenization. The study was a deconstructive process that required a critique of the nursing academy to (re)center marginalized Indigenous knowledge systems within a Eurocentric academic center.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Xi Lambda
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
DEI/BIPOC, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Cultural Context and Care, Indigenization, Undergraduate Nursing Education, Saskatchewan
Recommended Citation
Essien, Delasi, "Indigenization in Nursing Education Programs in Saskatchewan: A Critical Discourse Analysis" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 216.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/216
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-08
Indigenization in Nursing Education Programs in Saskatchewan: A Critical Discourse Analysis
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), established in 2008, released its final report containing 94 Calls to Action to redress the historical legacy of cultural assimilation against Indigenous peoples (TRC, 2015). Since the release of the TRC’s Calls to Action there has been a push within the nursing academy to Indigenize nursing education (Essien, 2022). Situated within the context of the colonialism and Whiteness, the goals of this study were to deconstruct and analyze the discourse of Indigenization in the undergraduate nursing education programs in Saskatchewan and examine the discursive practices that sustain, reproduce, and/or transform structures of dominance and power within nursing education programs in relation to Indigenization.
The study answered the following exploratory questions: (a) what is the conceptualization of Indigenization in the strategic plans in undergraduate nursing programs of Saskatchewan? (b) what are the experiences and/or practices of nursing program staff in implementing Indigenization within their programs? (c) how does the discourse of Indigenization found in texts, and experiences and/or practices of staff sustain, reproduce, or transform existing power structures in undergraduate nursing programs in Saskatchewan?
Using Spivak's (2009) theory of the deconstruction of marginality as the overarching theoretical framework, the strategic plans of the three undergraduate nursing programs in Saskatchewan and nursing staff of the programs were also interviewed to gain an understanding of their practices in relation to Indigenization. The texts and interviews were analyzed using a systematic content analysis process (Lune & Berg, 2017) and Fairclough’s (2016) dialectical-relational approach to critical discourse analysis.
The study found that there are four constructs of Indigenization embodied in the discourse of the strategic plans of nursing education programs in Saskatchewan: Indigenous inclusion, relationship, reconciliation, and decolonization. These constructs are interplayed within the text and in practice in such a way that one cannot be fully realized without the others. The practices of nursing program staff also show areas of tensions and contestations regarding the benefits, challenges, and detractors of Indigenization. The study was a deconstructive process that required a critique of the nursing academy to (re)center marginalized Indigenous knowledge systems within a Eurocentric academic center.
Description
This presentation explores how the popular Canadian buzz word, “Indigenization” is conceptualized in undergraduate nursing programs in Saskatchewan through strategic plans and the practices of nursing program staff, and shows areas of tensions and contestations in the realization of Indigenization in Saskatchewan.